Matt Crafton Tag

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent Toyota Racing Development driver Chandler Smith turned heads in his NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series debut at Iowa Speedway. It appeared that the 16-year-old was going to duel eventual race winner Ross Chastain after a lightning fast pit stop by his Rudy Fugle-led Kyle Busch Motorsports team. However, Smith was penalized for speeding entering the pits. He was sent to the tail-end of the longest line. Smith quickly worked his way back into the top-10. The progress of his No. 51 Safelite Toyota Tundra stalledRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor FORT WORTH, Texas – The pressure has been on for the young drivers in the Kyle Busch Motorsports stable in recent weeks, but on Friday afternoon, Todd Gilliland helped take some of that pressure off by putting his KBM Toyota on pole for the SpeedyCash.com 400. As one of the final trucks to hit the track, Gilliland laid down a lap of 29.227 seconds (184.761 mph) to best Johnny Sauter for the top spot and score his first pole position of the 2019 NASCAR GanderRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service CONCORD, N.C. – For the fifth time in his allotted five NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series starts in 2019, Kyle Busch took the checkered flag, this time under the lights in the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. “I wish I could do more,” Busch said following his 56th Gander Trucks career win. The rest of the field undoubtedly is quite happy the owner/driver of Kyle Busch Motorsports won’t be back until 2020. After all, Busch posted a perfect driver ratingRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent CONCORD, N.C. – Familiar names topped the speed charts as Sheldon Creed and Brennan Poole were fastest in the two NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series practice sessions. In the first practice session for the North Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Creed’s No. 2 Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet Silverado topped the charts with a speed of 181.561 mph. His 29.742 second lap edged out Todd Gilliland by 0.074 seconds. “I feel pretty confident going into tonight,” Creed explained. “Pretty decent practice. We got betterRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent  An uneventful night with a top-five finish was just want Todd Gilliland needed to return to form in the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series. After several eventful weeks left Gilliland’s No. 4 JBL / SiriusXM with less-than stellar results, he rebounded at Kansas Speedway. On back-to-back restarts in the Digital Ally 250, the Kyle Busch Motorsports driver made bold moves to gain positions. Gilliland found himself battling three-wide with Ben Rhodes, Matt Crafton, and eventual race winner Ross Chastain. While he held off Crafton, theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DOVER, Del. – You can call him the Dover Dominator. With a No. 13 ThorSport Racing Ford that was strongest at the end of Saturday’s Jegs 200 at Dover International Speedway, Johnny Sauter beat pole winner Brett Moffitt to the finish line after a late restart to win his first NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race of the season and his third straight the Monster Mile. The former series champion, who returned to ThorSport this season after a less-than-amicable split with GMS Racing, couldRead More

By Lee Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service FORT WORTH, Texas — Kyle Busch continued his winning ways out west. Busch held off Stewart Friesen by 1.269-seconds for his fourth-consecutive NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series victory of the season and his fourth-career win at Texas Motor Speedway. Busch led a race-high 97 laps in the Vankor 350 en route to his 55th career series win and his 202nd among NASCAR’s top three national series. “Those guys were able to keep up with us just way too much throughout the night,” Busch said. “YouRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent After two weeks off, the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series is back in action at Martinsville Speedway. Austin Hill is still the only driver locked into the Playoffs after Kyle Busch has won the last two races. Drivers playing catch up, a huge rookie contingent, and Monster Energy NASCAR Cup drivers in the field once again are some of the storylines heading into the Martinsville 250. Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace, and Kyle Busch are the only Cup drivers enter in Saturday’s race. Coverage for theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service LAS VEGAS – Little would make Kyle Busch happier than a three-race weekend sweep in his home town. The driver of the No. 51 Toyota took the first step on Friday night, winning the Strat 200 NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. For the second straight week, Busch swept both preliminary stages before taking the checkered flag. In his 2019 series debut last Friday at Atlanta, Busch broke a tie with NASCAR Hall of Famer Ron Hornaday Jr. for mostRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent After two tough race weekends in a row, the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series moves on to Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Austin Hill is still the only driver locked into the Playoffs after Kyle Busch earned a record-breaking win at Atlanta Motor Speedway. Drivers still playing catch up, the draft, and Kyle Busch in the field once again are some of the storylines heading into the Strat 200. Coverage for the Strat 200 is scheduled to start Friday night at 9:00 p.m. ET. A secondRead More